REVIEW: It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas by Julianna Keyes
Dear Julianna Keyes,
I saw this on NetGalley and thought it was out on 1 December 2024. It was actually released last December as it happens so DA readers can enjoy it straight away.
I have enjoyed Julianna Keyes books before and felt like a Christmas novella would be a bit of fun. And it was.
It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas is a Hallmark movie in a novella. It would actually make a fun romcom. It’s not very deep or very long but it’s fun and funny and it was a very entertaining way to spend a couple of hours.
Will Fowler and Eve Sherwood both write for the Live Laugh Travel blog. There is a senior writer role up for grabs and both are hoping to win the job. Their boss sends them on a weeklong trip to Noelville, a Christmas-themed town in the week before/of Christmas to write an article. The “winner” will get the senior writer job. Neither of them are all that into Christmas so this assignment is going to stretch both of them.
There are plenty of overt nods to Hallmark movies and romcoms. It’s loving and friendly but also self-aware. Will and Eve know how the story is supposed to go and talk openly about it.
Noelville is a town which hosts only 100 guests at a time (which seems unrealistic but, okay) and Christmas week is the most coveted time of year to attend. There are all manner of festive-themed events and activities. In Noelville it’s all Christmas all the time.
Neither Will or Eve have much of what you’d call Christmas spirit and neither of them are feeling particularly inspired to write the article which could take their respective careers to the next level. They’re not inspired – yet. But they are fiercely determined. First though, they have to survive being surrounded by everyone else in the town (other guests and staff, aka “elves”) who are all completely into Christmas.
As it happens, both bump into people they went to high school with – Harry, who runs the Fig & Holly gift shop as well as being the town handyman and Shawna who runs An Apple A Day and makes excellent cider. Harry is sweet but Eve is not really into him and Will finds himself watching Eve while he spends a little time with Shawna.
Eve and Will bond over their shared not-love of the festive season. It’s almost a self-defence mechanism after listening to Harry wax poetic about the history of nutcrackers. I enjoyed Eve and Will’s banter so much. It’s what made the novella. It really would translate well into a movie script.
“So, of all the cider joints in all the world, you just happened to walk into Shawna’s? Did you know she was here?”
Will put his hand on his heart. “No idea. Just a happy coincidence.”
“Did you ever date?”
“Nah. She was prom queen. I was yearbook editor. And head writer. And principal photographer.”
“And the actual yearbook itself.”
“Just that one time for Halloween. Kids can be cruel, Eve. Don’t dress up as a leatherbound tome for any holiday unless you’re prepared to be called Leather Daddy for the rest of high school.”
Eve and Will have both different experiences of Christmas. Eve’s parents were both in the Navy and so they moved around a lot, never really bothering to put up decorations or celebrate the season. Will’s parents participated in the whole extravaganza but it was more about how it looked to everyone rather than as a result of any true feeling.
“What’s the best gift you’ve ever gotten, then?”
He was quiet. “If we define ‘best’ by what you see on TV or the ‘most popular gifts for boys under 12’ lists or what the neighbors envied most, probably the horse I got for my eleventh birthday.”
“You had a horse?”
He nodded. “Apparently. It lived at a stable three hours away and I never got to see it. Or ride it. I never even took riding lessons. I didn’t know anyone who did. My parents just wanted to say they owned a horse, I guess.”
“Wow. Did that sleigh ride bring up some dark memories?”
“You know, now that I’m thinking about it, I’m not sure we owned a horse. Maybe they just said they bought one.”
“I can’t decide if that’s evil or genius.”
He smiled as he picked up a small carved mouse holding out a shiny gold coin to a magpie and studied its craftsmanship.
“Your turn,” he said. “Your best gift.”
Eve thought. “Well, one year my electric toothbrush died, so I got a replacement.”
“Stop trying to be better than my horse, Eve.”
“And it came with two extra heads, and—”
“Don’t say it.”
“—a travel case.”
“Must you make everything a competition?”
But as Eve and Will spend time in Noelville, visiting the Nutcracker Museum, (competitively) decorating sugar cookies, having sleigh rides, going sledding and snowshoeing, something about the season and the town gets to them after all.
I really like Christmas but I can’t imagine wanting to spend a lot of time in a Nutcracker museum – although I would happily visit Miss Maple’s Pie & Cake Shoppe – so I related to Eve and Will’s cynicism. I laughed at the pair’s (separate) various attempts to start their articles.
The scents of cinnamon and clove, vanilla and cardamom hang in the air like Christmas lights on a string. The inside of An Apple A Day lives up to its name, with tall barrels brimming with apples lining the wall, and a small bar inviting guests to settle in and get warm and cozy while shop owner Shawna prepares them a special treat. Her secret ingredient? Love.
Eve sighed and deleted the last line.
Her secret ingredient? Christmas.
Delete.
Her secret ingredient? Magic.
Delete.
Her secret ingredient? Apples. It’s obviously the apples. How much can you freaking say about cider?
(Eve)
Noelville is snowy. The town square is busy. The shops sell soap. The cookies taste good. There are many trees.
(Will)
I chuckled quite a bit reading It’s Beginning To Look a Lot Like Christmas. And if the ending was a bit cheesy and schmaltzy well, isn’t that exactly what a Hallmark movie is supposed to be?
Grade: B
Regards,
Kaetrin
OK, you sold me — I would 100% watch this movie, and I will check out the novella!
This does sound like a fun read, Kaetrin! Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
Clickety-click. Thank you, Kaetrin, for another review of a book I expect to enjoy and am unlikely to have noticed absent your review.
@KitBee: @LML: Hope you enjoy!
Thanks, @Kaetrin–sounds interesting! I really liked her baseball books and wished she’d written more. May pick this up!
@flchen1: Yes – I’ve enjoyed quite a few of her books and I’d like to read more.